Chapter 38: The Second Trial
"Bella, you're amazing!" Jonas praised me. "You're not just good at making medicine, but you're also skilled in surgery? My God, you're a treasure. You keep surprising me more and more!"
"Bella, you're awesome!" Ashley and Arthur gathered around me excitedly.
Harold looked at me with satisfaction. Marcus tilted his head up and said proudly, "This little test is nothing for Bella. Don't make such a big fuss."
Even though Marcus said that, he was grinning from ear to ear.
I smiled faintly and gave Marcus a light pat, reminding him to tone it down a bit.
"That's impossible." Amelia's eyes widened in disbelief.
I looked up at Lucas. He was staring at me with a complicated expression, showing that dazed yet serious look again.
Before I could think more about it, the other two people who passed came over to me.
One was in his sixties, the other in his forties. The older one was called Gideon, the younger one Dax. Both were doctors traveling with that man who kept coughing.
However, the two didn't get along well. After Diana talked to Dax for a bit, he switched sides on the spot.
Gideon politely asked me, "May I take a look at your answer?"
He was like a big tree, giving off a gentle feeling. I nodded and handed him my tablet.
Gideon studied my answer carefully, muttering to himself, "I see, so that's how it is."
Dax, on the other hand, was like an unsheathed sword, competitive and aggressive. He shoved his tablet into my hands with a harsh tone, "Can you tell what's wrong with it?"
I glanced at his answer, and three seconds later, casually swapped the positions of two images. After submitting, I got a perfect score again.
Dax wasn't very happy. His mouth turned down in a deep frown. "I was just careless. Otherwise, I would have gotten a perfect score too!"
The coughing man sent someone over with a business card. I looked at the name on it—Elias Percy. I thought there was a prince in Dravonia with this name, and his age matched this man's.
"Hello, Prince Elias." I bowed to him. Elias smiled weakly at me. "Gideon is highly skilled in medicine. For you to beat Gideon, that's impressive."
"You're too kind. I just happened to have studied Doyle a bit." I presented my business card with both hands.
"Sorelli?" Elias's eyes flickered slightly. "Starstream City seems like a nice place. I should visit sometime."
I smiled slightly. "Platinum Haven Hotel welcomes you warmly."
Gideon returned the tablet to me. "Although I've also studied Doyle's suturing techniques, you've mastered them better than I. Are you Doyle's student?"
I felt a sharp gaze suddenly shoot toward me. I turned to look, and the gaze disappeared instantly.
I answered Gideon, "I'm not Doyle's student. I studied at Alverell Medical University."
I didn't reveal my identity. Whether it was my mom and dad or Doyle, they all repeatedly told me not to reveal my identity. I asked them why, and they always said that when the time came, I would naturally know, and hiding my identity was to protect me.
Dax laughed dismissively. "Just a second-rate school."
I didn't argue back. Alverell Medical University was indeed quite ordinary among medical schools. I had always studied under Doyle, and this degree was just one way to hide my identity.
The auctioneer said, "Please follow me into the building, you three. Everyone else, wait outside."
Marcus stood up alertly. "Just them?"
The auctioneer replied, "Yes, please rest assured, there won't be any danger."
Marcus hesitated. I told him not to worry too much. "We've come this far. It would be a shame to give up now. Marcus, don't worry. I have ways to protect myself."
Marcus patted my head. "Go take a look. If it doesn't work out, giving up is no big deal."
I nuzzled Marcus's palm like a little cat. "Got it."
The others gave similar advice. Lucas stood silently to the side. Harold tapped his foot with his cane. "Don't you have anything to say to Bella?"
I glanced at him. Just then, the auctioneer urged us on. I walked quickly toward the building. The heavy iron door opened halfway. Inside, it was dimly lit, and a smell of disinfectant alcohol mixed with bitter medicine wafted out.
Lucas suddenly caught up and grabbed my wrist before I went in.
I looked at his hand holding my wrist, then slowly raised my eyes.
"Be careful," he said, then let go.
"Okay," I replied coolly and walked through the iron door. A servant stood behind the door and immediately closed it.
The lock made a crisp sound.
The first floor of the building was empty, with nothing there, not even lights, and thick curtains were drawn.
Through the gaps in the curtains, I could vaguely see several dark gun barrels.
I unconsciously touched my left wrist. A rose gold bracelet clung tightly to my skin, and a chip on the inside of the bracelet emitted a faint blue light.
This was what Lucas had just put on me.
The bracelet could track location and monitor heartbeat and breathing. Over the past three years, whenever Lucas took me to parties or events he thought might be dangerous, he would put the bracelet on me before leaving, to prevent getting separated and not being able to find me.
Lucas's palm warmth still lingered on my wrist.
I rubbed the bracelet, and my nervous mood gradually calmed down.
Dax asked first, "What's the second test?"
The auctioneer said, "When a patient is bleeding non-stop, how do you quickly stop the bleeding? Please complete your answer within one hour."
The tablets in our hands lit up, and a blank new page appeared.
"What's the point of Roger setting up these tests?" Dax asked. "Does he want to pick an heir?"
No wonder Dax would think this way. Both tests examined our medical skills. If Roger really wanted to take on students, Gideon, who was in his sixties and had many students, would probably feel awkward. The proud Dax didn't seem like someone who wanted to become someone's student either, and I already had a teacher.
The auctioneer said, "I'm only in charge of hosting. I don't know anything."
Dax pestered for a while but couldn't get anything out of him, so he had to give up.
Gideon sat down where he was. I picked a spot that looked slightly cleaner and sat down to start answering.
If a patient were bleeding nonstop, it could be a blood-clotting disorder, or it could be certain special diseases causing platelet counts to fall below normal levels. There were many possible situations. The question didn't even say where the patient's wound was, how deep, or how big. If I listed all possible situations one by one and gave solutions, I definitely couldn't finish in an hour.
I thought calmly—could there be a connection between the previous round's question and this one?
With two minutes left on the countdown, I stopped answering. Gideon stopped around the same time as me. He took off his thick glasses. Two red marks had been pressed into his nose bridge, and he tiredly pinched the bridge of his nose.
Dax obviously hadn't finished yet. His anxious fingertips danced across the screen. When the countdown ended, the answer was automatically submitted. He screamed and punched the ground.
This round was manually graded, so the wait was longer.
Dax asked Gideon and me anxiously, "How many situations did you list?"
"Three," Gideon and I said at the same time.
"How can that be? There are clearly many situations that cause non-stop bleeding!" Dax jumped up excitedly.
Gideon and I exchanged a glance. It seemed his approach to answering was similar to mine.
The auctioneer cleared his throat. "The results of this round are out. Congratulations to Ms. Sorelli and Gideon for passing. Please go to the second floor."
"How could I lose?" Dax was like an angry bull, looking back and forth between Gideon and me, then lunged at me. "You must have cheated!"